CONCEPT SELECTION IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY WITH EXAMPLES
DS 36: Proceedings DESIGN 2006, the 9th International Design Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia
                        Year: 2006
                        Editor: Marjanovic, D.
                        Author: Bylund, N.
                        Section: MAKING DECISIONS IN INDUSTRIAL PRACTICE
                        Page(s): 1335-1342
                        
Abstract
The paper describes the requirement fulfilment complexity and the resulting difficulties in concept selection in the automotive industry, with examples from a practitioners point of view. The lifecycle has been reduced so that more and more models come out in a shorter time span. However the manufacturing equipment needs often to be reused in order to be amortised in a longer time span, this means that a concept decision is influenced from earlier concepts and will potentially have a long time impact. Furthermore when several brands merge into an automotive group, a concept decision will influence and will be influenced by several brands and their specific history and unique requirements.
Keywords: concept selection, product development, complexity